“It’s an honor to meet a woman who knows her batshit fairy tales and can castrate a man with a lamp. I appreciate the creativity. Inspired. Truly.”
Kitty’s head rolled against my shoulder, but the way she hid her expression from Taube had me glowering at her.
“Not all of us are killers,” I sniped.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” was the other woman’s uncharacteristically solemn response. “When our backs are to the wall, weareall killers. Each and every last one of us.”
* The original Italian version of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Giambattista Basile
TEN
KITTY
Playlist recommendation:
Unsteady - X Ambassadors
I only stopped hiding my face once he settled us in an SUV because I needed to make sure we were on the same page.
“My family can’t see me like this, Stan.”
“I’m taking you to my mother’s home,duci,” he replied, his tone odd. Light but heavy. Solemn but… God.Reverent.
Uncomfortable, I shuffled until I could see him better but made no move to leave his lap. “Taube said that Star would hear about this soon. She meant Star Sullivan, right?”
“She did.”
“I want to talk to her first.”
“My phone’s in the inner pocket of my jacket.” I blinked at him in confusion. “I don’t want to touch you until you’re ready for me to.”
Oh.
Tears pricked my stupid eyes at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you. But they… didn’t, you know? Close but… didn’t.”
He graced me with a stiff nod. “I’ll touch you when you’re ready,liunissa. Not a moment sooner.”
Throat tight with appreciation for his care, I delved into his pocket and slipped out his cell. When he reeled off his pin number, my breath hitched at the second display of trust.
Then, I realized… “That’s the same as my credit card’s.”
Before he could reply, the vehicle pulled out into the street, making me jump.
God, I hated myself for being so delicate right now. I’d survived. My captors were either dead or severely injured. How could I be delicate when I was the reason for their fates?
“I need to move my hands so I can hold you better. Is that okay?” Stan queried, breaking into my thoughts.
“It is.”
I let him maneuver me until I sank between his thighs, finding comfort within that divot of space.
Honestly, he held me better than a seatbelt could.
I typed Star Sullivan into his contacts and hit connect as soon as I found her name.
“Twice in one day, my man, we gonna start calling each other besties soon?”
Though the greeting took me aback, I cleared my throat. “Not sure if you know me, Star, but I’m Kitty Frasier.”
